Details of the Hamas deal

33 hostages are exchanged for 735 prisoners

(Bild: AFP)

After 468 days in the hands of Hamas, 33 Israeli hostages can hope to be released. Israel agreed to a deal with the terrorist militia. In return, 735 prisoners are to be released - including terrorists and murderers. According to mediator Qatar, the ceasefire is due to come into force at 7.30 a.m. on Sunday.

On October 7, 2023, 251 people were abducted in the Gaza Strip during the major attack on Israel. 105 hostages were released following a deal in November 2023, 31 Israeli prisoners are considered officially dead according to their government. The first hostages are expected to be released on Sunday. 

It is unclear how many hostages are still alive
The families of the hostages, who are to be released within a period of 42 days, have already been notified. The list of hostages to be returned mainly includes so-called "humanitarian" cases: Women, children, the elderly and the sick. However, Hamas has not stated how many of the 33 people concerned are still alive. Israel assumes, however, that most of them have survived. 

This article shows the 33 hostages who are to be released as part of the deal:

Murderers and terrorists on release list
The Ministry of Justice has already published a list of 735 Palestinian prisoners to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. According to "The Times of Israel", this includes numerous terrorists serving life sentences for murder. The list would include members of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Fatah movement. But they also include 69 women and ten minors who are currently being held in Israeli prisons.

Handover dead or alive
Seven days after the start of the ceasefire, Israel is to receive a full status report on the hostages on the list. The agreement states: "If the number of live Israeli hostages to be released at this stage does not reach 33, the difference will be made up by the release of an equivalent number of human remains". As reported by "The Times of Israel", the government has insisted on taking the living of the 33 first and then the bodies.

Release in stages
A timetable for the releases has also been set: This provides for the return of three hostages on the first day of the ceasefire and four others on the seventh day. Three hostages will then be returned each week over a period of four weeks. Finally, in the last, sixth week of the first phase, 14 hostages will be returned. The names of the people to be released will be announced 24 hours in advance.

The list includes twelve women and children, ten elderly men and eleven other men under the age of 50, including the Austrian-Israeli dual citizen Tal Shoham.

65 other people are said to be held by Hamas - many of them are believed to be dead. These are to be brought back as part of a second phase of an agreement - which envisages a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.